A new approach to financial regulation: the blueprint for reform

Background

The government’s proposals make a number of reforms to the regulatory system, including:

• establishing a macro-prudential regulator, the Financial Policy Committee (FPC) (within the Bank of England) to monitor and respond to systemic risks
• transferring responsibility for prudential regulation to a focused new regulator, the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) established as a subsidiary of the Bank of England
• creating a focused new conduct of business regulator - the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) - to ensure that business across financial services and markets is conducted in a way that advances the interests of all users and participants

The government introduced the Financial Services Bill into Parliament on 26th January 2012, following three rounds of consultation and extensive engagement with stakeholders, as set out below.

Consultation

The consultation marks a key step in delivering the government’s commitment to reform financial regulation in the UK. It builds on two previous consultations:

• A new approach to financial regulation: building a stronger system, published in February 2011; and  
• A new approach to financial regulation: judgment, focus and stability, published in July 2010.

The consultation document and white paper, including draft legislation sets out the detail of the Government’s proposals and how the Government intends to give these proposals legislative effect. The draft Bill was subject to pre-legislative scrutiny (PLS).

The Government welcomes the report and thanks the Joint Committee for its detailed scrutiny of the draft Bill. This document also contains a summary of responses to the previous consultation, and areas where the Government’s position has been informed by responses to consultation are highlighted throughout the white paper.

The individual responses to the February consultation, can be accessed in the ‘A new approach to financial regulation: building a stronger system’ consultation page.

Consultation responses

Responses were received from a range of industry, academic and individual stakeholders and are published below in alphabetic order, except where confidentiality was requested.

Consolidated version of FSMA

The draft Financial Services Bill, published as part of ‘A new approach to financial regulation: the blueprint for reform’, makes a number of amendments to existing legislation, in particular the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA).

The Treasury has produced a consolidated version of FSMA to show how it would be amended by the draft Financial Services Bill. The document below highlights the proposed changes to FSMA as at the date of publication of the White Paper. The changes are marked in the following ways:

• inserted and substituted text is underlined; and
• repealed text is either struck through or where whole sections are repealed, this is shown as a dotted line.

Please note that this is an illustrative document which has been produced by the Treasury to aid scrutiny of the draft Financial Services Bill by Parliament and interested parties. It is not an official Parliamentary document. This document was amended on 6 September 2011. This will be updated for the committee stage of the Financial Services Bill (expected in early 2012).